Slippers of Blood
by FluffyChipmunk
Summary: Cinderella's family wan't as bad as it was told, and Ella isn't without her problems, either. Set in a universe where ghosts are real, and reality is blurred for some.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _Mother walks down the aisle with her chin up. Her chocolate hair is tied up in a bun, and a gemstone necklace adorns her collarbone. Today is her special day. Mother is finally getting married, and we will finally have a father again._

 _Vera is so excited, her eyes tear up at the sight of Mother. Vera and I are in matching cerulean dresses along with our soon-to-be step-sister, Ella Cera._

 _"Your mother looks so beautiful," Ella whispers. Two years older than us, she is four inches taller than me, and old enough to wear heeled shoes._

 _"She'll be your mother as well soon," Vera whispers back a little too loudly. Our aunt, Anne, tells her to be quiet as the ceremony is starting._

 _We turn our heads to the priest. My soon to be step-father stands at the altar, and takes Mother's hands into his. It's a sweet moment. I haven't seen Mother smile since Father died._

 _They say this church is haunted by the priest who died here. Our soon-to-be step-father didn't want to be here; he says that his wife had met the priest who died. He's too superstitious; everyone knows that ghosts can only speak with people who they spoke with when they were alive. That's their curse, they can't let go of the past lest they disappear forever._

 _Ghosts are strange. They can't go to places they've never been. No one really knows if they're real until you're being haunted, but everyone just kind of believes in them. I don't know why Charles is so afraid._

* * *

Fiona wakes up in a cold sweat. That's weird, she thinks, the memory flashing before her eyes. Nothing was particularly sad or frightening about it. She flexes her palms, and wipes the residue on the silk bed sheets. She snuggles back into her lime green comforter. Just two weeks ago Vera had turned 17, a milestone according to their mother. Her mother intends Fiona inherit the estate, and she's grooming her daughter to do just that.

"May I come in?" A meek voice drifts across the room.

A small girl stands in the doorway. She isn't really a girl, as she's 22, but her demeanor and stature suggest everything else. Her wispy, blonde hair is tied up in a loose bun. Her hands clench on the edges of the metallic platter as if she doesn't know how to proceed.

"Sure," Vera calls from the vanity. She's doing her hair, braiding it. She ties it off with a red ribbon, and turns to face the girl. "Bring the breakfast here, Ella."

Ella walks quickly to Vera, and places the platter in front of her. The fresh French toast's cinnamon scent wafts to Fiona, still in her canopy bed.

Fiona sits up, now attentive to the world around her. "Hey, Ella, where's my breakfast?" She asks jokingly. She flips her short, raven hair, smiles and walks out

of the room.

Ella stands there confused, not knowing what to do. "Where is Fiona going?"

Vera shrugs, and the friction of her chair and the mahogany floor creates a creaky noise akin to nails scratching a chalkboard. Vera's long skirt slides gently across the ground.

"I'll go find her," Vera says to Ella. "Thanks for bringing the breakfast, but why did you do it? It's not like you had to."

She exits the room, not waiting for Ella's answer, leaving Ella alone with an untouched platter of toast. The lone girl sighs, and sits at the now empty vanity seat. She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"It was just a thank you for helping me the last time." Ella answers out loud. Vera is long gone, so she wonders why she even said anything. "I wish you haunted me, Mother. I have a lot to talk to you about."

She stands back up, and lifts the breakfast platter. She walks out of the room, and sees Fiona arguing with Ella's step-mother.

"We should all go to the ball together, Mother," Fiona insists. She's holding a crinkled, cream envelope with a pretty piece of parchment sticking out.

"She isn't fit to go to a prince's ball," Ella's step-mother sounds exasperated.

Ella flattens her body to the side of the wall, separating herself from the conversation she has been eavesdropping on. Unfortunately, as she hides herself from her step-family, she drops the silver platter that she had been holding. It clatters loudly, and Fiona and her mother look over to see what the sound came from.

"I'm so sorry," Ella splutters out as she leans down to pick up the metallic plate. Her face is flushed red with embarrassment.

"See, Fiona. Ella would be an embarrassment to our family if she came to the ball," Ella's step-mother declares to her daughter with a dramatic flourish of her arm and swish of her black skirt.

Fiona smiles warmly to Ella, and starts to head back to her room.

"Hey, Fiona, what were you and Step-mother talking about," Ella asks, tripping over her words, rushing to catch up to her step-sister.

Fiona suddenly turns around, startling Ella, and accidentally bumping into her.

"It was nothing; don't worry about it," was Fiona's answer before patting her technically bigger sister's head, and starting back for her room, leaving Ella awkwardly sitting on the ground, holding on to the breakfast platter.

 **AN: This started as a re-write of an older story of mine, but the entire plot has changed, and almost all of the characters have been added or modified in some way. Also, thanks to Be Rose for beta-ing for me. I'll try to update regularly since I have a lot of the story written out already.**


	2. Chapter 2

" _Will Mother come back as a ghost, Father?" A small, blonde girl clutches her father's coattails as her mother's coffin is gently settled in the grave. Lilies droop in one hand. "Jack says that his grandmother came back as a ghost. His mom says that it isn't a good thing, but he gets to talk to his grandmother."_

 _Wiping away the tears on his face, her father squats down to his daughter's short stature. "Let's hope Mother won't come back. If she does, it'll mean she can't rest in heaven properly. And don't forget that people only come back if they have a wish that they need fulfilled. Mother was a very happy woman." He smiles, and pokes his daughter's tiny nose. "Just like you, Ella."_

* * *

Ella stands there for just a moment before dusting off her skirt.

"Why is she so patronizing?" she mutters. Although the words are harsh, Ella says it fondly. Memories rush into her mind, back to before her mother died, when she, Vera, and Fiona were simply schoolmates.

* * *

 _A smile escapes my lips as Jack, my best friend, tickles me. We're ten years old, and this is my last memory of Jack before he moved away._

" _Hey! Stop it!" I laugh. I fall from the force of my giggles. I somehow land in the eight-years' sandbox._

" _Are you okay?"_

 _I look up to see a girl staring blankly at me. She has short, black hair with bangs held by red barrettes, and her eyes are a startling emerald. "Well, are you?"_

 _Her blank stare creeps me out, and I scramble to get up. A girl with the same green eyes is running towards the girl that asked me if I was alright. This girl is much younger than me, and probably younger than the raven-haired girl, and has soft, hazel colored hair._

" _Fi, who's that?" She asks, pointing to me, and how I'm covered in sand._

" _I'm Ella," I introduce myself. I then see Jack walking to me, so I wave goodbye, and start running back to where Jack is waiting._

* * *

Vera sees Ella standing there, and waves a hand across her eyes. "Hey, Ella, are you okay?"

Ella suddenly collapses, and the silver platter she's still holding clatters down to the ground for the second time. Even though Ella's unconscious, her eyes are wide open and glassed over. Her normally blue eyes are a strange shade of light blue, as if fog has suddenly invaded Ella's irises.

Vera calls lazily, "Mother, Ella's fainted again."

Vera's mother comes running down the hallway, lifting her skirt for better movement. She "tsks" and yells, "Fiona! Call the doctor!"

Vera's mother easily picks up the rather frail girl that is Ella, and sets her down onto the parlor sofa. Vera hurries to her mother with a wet towel, and places it on Ella's forehead.

"The doctor says he'll be here in fifteen minutes!" Fiona's voice carries down from her room and into the parlor.

"Can you finally see why I can't allow Ella to go to the prince's ball? She's too frail, and would embarrass us," Vera's mother mutters under her breath.

Vera hears, and her eyes light up. "Ball? What ball?" She says excitedly.

"Ella!" Ella's father storms through the room, footsteps booming through the floor. He pushes past Vera and his wife to see his daughter unconscious. "Will she be okay?"

"She'll be fine; she does this a lot," Vera off-handedly comments.

Apparently, that wasn't a comment her step-father appreciated. His eyes bulge slightly, and his face starts reddening.

"What do you mean that she does this a lot? How could you not tell me about this, Marie?!" He shouts at his wife.

Marie stands up, and says calmly, "You're never home, Charles." She waves her arm towards Ella, "Whenever you are actually home, I'd rather not elaborate to you about non-problems. Ella will be fine. The doctor is coming. Calm down."

It's rather remarkable how stoic Marie is. Her eyes don't even look the slightest bit fazed, like she had expected this to happen.

Ella's father gets angrier, and yells even louder, "What do you mean by non-problems? Don't you think I should be informed if my only daughter is randomly fainting with her eyes open and glassy?!"

Vera closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. She steps out of the room where her parents are arguing. Tears start to drip, drip down her face. Her hands clench into fists. An arm slings around her shoulders, and Vera sees her older sister hugging her as tears cloud her vision.

"Don't you hate it when parents argue?" Vera asks her sister, sniffling.

"Sometimes, but you saw how Mother was. She expected it to happen, I'd bet," Fiona answered. Fiona knew that her mother was clever, so she couldn't see how Marie hadn't expected some sort of disagreement in a marriage.

"Why are you so upset?" Fiona wonders, whispering the question in her sister's ear.

"He said 'only daughter', Fi," Vera cries softly. "When Mother married him, she promised us that we would have a new father."

Looking straight at her sister, she spoke again, "I've always wanted a father; I've never really had one. You know that."


End file.
